Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, left, is defended by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (right) in first half action in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Wed May 18, 2022 (AP News photo)

Warriors Take Game One Against Dallas 112-87

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday night the Golden State Warriors took on the Dallas Mavericks in Game One of the Western Conference Finals and came away with a 112-87 win to open the series at Chase Center in San Francisco.

After beating the Memphis Grizzlies in the semifinals there was concern with the play of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole in the last four games. While they have had their moments consistency has been missing. The Warriors Kevon Looney contended with Luca Doncic which was a very tough assignment.

Game 1 recap: The first quarter was close for a minutes but by the finish of the first 12 minutes the Warriors led 28-18. The Mavs did outscore Golden State in the second quarter by a single point 27-26. At the half the Warriors led 54-45 shooting at 56% to the Mavericks 32%.

There was better ball protection in the first half with six turnovers. The one glaring stat was the fact that Thompson was scoreless in the first two quarters and Curry was also struggling. Andrew Wiggins had an excellent first half keeping the team afloat.

The Warriors extended their lead after three quarters leading 90-69. “We are defending really well, as well as moving the ball,” said Warrior head coach Steve Kerr after the third quarter. It was quite a relief for Golden State to have Kerr back on the sidelines after a bout with Covid.

Jordan Poole, Curry and Thompson got going in the second half. In the early minutes of the fourth quarter the Warriors had a 98-69 lead prompting a Dallas timeout. When you can hold Luka Doncic to 20 points through three plus quarters you’ve really put the stops on the Mavericks.

With four minutes left in the game the Warriors led by 30 points 106-76. The Warriors bench would close out this game. Damian Lee, Nemanja Bjelica, Moses Moody, Juan Toscano – Anderson and Jonathan Kuminga brought this one home. The final was in favor of the Warriors in this first game of these Western Conference Finals.

The Mavericks had a tough start to the series. They were 11 of 48 from downtown and you could see frustration clearly etched on the face of Luka Doncic.

It was a great finish for Golden State. The entire starting roster shot in double digits. Curry had the high with 21 points closely followed by Andrew Wiggins and Poole who had 19 points apiece. Everything was working for the Warriors in the second half to secure the first win of this series. Golden State would need more of the same in Game Two.

The second game of this series at Chase will tipoff Friday at 6:00 PM.